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While some smṛtis prescribe the enactment of a penance immediately as needed, some other place restrictions on the time (i.e. the Prāyaścittattatva says that a penance should not commence on the 8th or 14th tithi of the month). If one is in mourning, he may also wait to perform penance until the period of mourning has been completed. [67]
According to dictionary definitions, the primary meaning of penance is the deeds done out of penitence. Like the latter, repentance refers to the genuine interior sorrow for one's hurtful words or actions. Only repentance implies a purpose of amendment, the resolve to avoid such hurtful behavior in the future.
A discipline is a small scourge (whip) used as an instrument of penance by certain members of some Christian denominations (including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, [1] among others) [2] in the spiritual discipline known as mortification of the flesh. Many disciplines comprise seven cords, symbolizing the seven deadly sins and seven virtues.
If the sinner refused to do penance, he or she was excommunicated. Public penance consisted of acts of mortification such as wearing a "hair shirt," covering the head with ashes, fasting and prayers. These acts were regulated by the bishops. After the period of penance was completed, the repentant sinner was readmitted into the assembly.
Modern confessional in the Church of the Holy Name, Dunedin, New Zealand.The penitent may kneel on the kneeler or sit in a chair facing the priest (not shown) In Catholic Christian teaching, the Sacrament of Penance is the method by which individuals confess any sins they have committed after their baptism; these sins are then absolved by God through the administration of a priest, who assigns ...
Christians practicing mortification of the flesh often use instruments of penance as they repent, with the purpose of being contrite and sharing in the suffering of Jesus. These include the following: Discipline, a scourge usually having seven tails (representing the seven deadly sins and seven virtues) for self-flagellation of the back [22]
[13] On one hand, Thomas notes that "if any sin is concealed, there is no confession, no absolution." [14] On the other hand, he cautions priests not to extriere ("terrorise") penitents "lest they push them into obstinacy or despair." [15] Thomas begins by defining penance, before discussing the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and spiritual ...
In the East, the prominent feature of penance was not the practice of mortification and pious works, though this was supposed; the penance imposed on sinners was a longer or shorter period of exclusion from communion and the Mass, to which they were gradually admitted to the different penitential "stations" or classes, three in number; for the ...